With the world’s most intelligent kid-flicks currently emerging from Northern Europe (Lepel, The Fearless Triplets, The Colour Of Milk), it’s no surprise that the agonies of adolescence should be explored with such candour by debut Swedish director Teresa Fabik in this lively rites-of-passage picture.
It’s almost impossible to watch as intoxicated 12 year-old Amanda Renberg is unknowingly abused by her male classmates after she passes out at a party, but Fabik also condemns the cruel realities of school society that prompt Renberg’s friends to disown her when photos of her humiliation begin circulating. The juvenile performances are disappointingly inconsistent, but Fabik raises difficult issues without resorting to melodrama.